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| MORE SNOW AND COLD WEATHER |
Thursday, 8:15 AM. 23 degrees F, wind variable, with light to moderate gusts. The sky is overcast, foggy, and it is snowing moderately hard. The humidity is 83% and the barometer is rising slowly, now at 30.29". There are several more inches of snow atop the foot or more already dumped on us by the initial blizzard
We are leaving shortly for Madison to attend an Urban Forestry Council meeting at the US Forest Products Laboratory, which is on the UW campus. We hope the road conditions are decent. The Madison weather forecast looks very similar to that of Bayfield. It will be an unseasonably cold trip. Buddy, as usual, is going along. We are staying at a new La Quinta motel, which is pet friendly at no extra charge, so he won't have to sleep in the truck.
I have recently encountered several Almanac readers who evinced a bit of poorly concealed frustration at my perceived lack of political polemics of late. No, I didn't promise to throw them more red meat. Let me explain my less bombastic rhetoric of late.
I am increasingly tired of combative politics. I hate being angry all the time, even if the situation calls for it. It spoils my day. That doesn't mean I am less incensed by the banality and treachery of this president and his administration, and it doesn't mean that I am any less fervent in my opposition to big government, high taxes and over-regulation.
What it means is that I am sick and tired of ad hominem attacks and ridiculous attempts at character assassination based on things that happened in high school. It means that I am tired of rumor mongering and unwarranted legal action. I am tired of politicians who to divide us into races and classes instead of uniting us. I am tired of fake science. I am tired of being lied to by politicians and academics who think I am too dumb to understand their games.
What I want to see is political platforms that are realistic and and inspirational. I want to see achievable goals that can be measured. I want to see patriotism, not me-ism. I want laws to be enforced as written, and the Constitution of the United States upheld. I want to see elected officials and public employees at their posts hard at work, not galavanting all over the planet on the taxpayers dime. I want to see government work. I want the United States of America to be respected for its strength and justice, not dismissed as weak and divided.
So I shall try to tone down my own rhetoric, be logical and fact based, try not to get too far out of my own areas of expertise in my commentary, and maintain a sense of humor. Now if only the opposition will do the same.
I too have grown weary of the political discussion in our country. So I am encouraged that you have started to drift away from it. In our media world, one can hardly escape politics. As such it was a haven to read your descriptions of the goings on in Bayfield. I enjoy your descriptions of what is budding, blooming and leafing out in Bayfield. I learn something every day in your description and background on a specific tree or shrub in nearly every post. I come to expect that every lead paragraph will tell me what the weather is like in your area. These things (phenology?) are what set your blog apart. It helps that you craft a good sentence, too. So, I applaud your shift back to the content that got me reading your blog in the first place.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the feedback, Scott. But in good conscience I can't get away from all of it, especially as regards environmental policy and programs, as that is where my expertise really lies an I feel that I can help my readers navigate these issues.
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